When I woke up this morning, it took me a moment to get up, because I was so sore. I took a short inventory and my upper body was really beaten up, but my lower body was still a little sore, too. Especially my gluteus medius, part of my bum.
My schedule this week was Sh'Bam on Monday evening, Spinning and CX Tuesday morning as well as striking practice and Body Balance Tuesday evening. Wednesday I went to a Body Pump class in the morning and - finally - grappling training in the evening. So, I deserved the soreness, but still. I like being sore up to a certain point. If it exceeds that point, I get whiny. And today was a whiny day. Everything hurt, and since I do physical work, I really felt it most of the time.
Which brings me to the point of this post. There are all these motivational fitspo pictures saying that "pain is weakness leaving the body" or "no pain, no gain", but should you really go for that burn every time?
Sure, being sore gives most people a feeling of accomplishment. It is a way of proving to yourself that you put in the work. You can tell your friends about your sore legs, post about them on social media. All of that. Oh, and it is totally worth it, posting about accomplishments on facebook, twitter or the social media outlet of your choice. Studies showed that it actually helped keep up motivation in people who set themselves the goal of getting fitter.
This just as an aside. That burn you feel while working out is lactate acid that accumulates in the muscle and the pain you feel when you're sore are microruptures in your muscle tissues and when they heal, they grow back stronger (if you give your body the right nutrients to grow). So, to gain muscle, does it have to hurt? No, it doesn't. But it's a walk on a tightrope, because you have to hit the zone where you challenge your muscles enough to encourage growth, but you can't come on to strong. At the same time, you shouldn't go to hard, but you have to go hard enough to challenge your body. And that's probably why most people like being sore. It's almost instant feedback that the workout did come through. And that's okay. However, keep in mind that being sore means that - in a way - you're injured. And as it goes with all injuries, you have to give your body time to heal. Take a rest day. You deserved it.
In that spirit, I had a great rest day today. I walked a lot ("Walk it off") and had good food to give my body the material to bounce back stronger.
So, enjoy your soreness and your rest day!
Ei kommentteja:
Lähetä kommentti